AGR 3102 (1)

Principles of Weed Science

Approaches to Weed Control and

Management

Muhammad Saiful Ahmad Hamdani

Week 4 – Topics Covered

 Approaches to weed control and management:

- History of weed control and concept of
weed management
- Critical period of weed control?
- Methods of weed control:
1. Mechanical
2. Cultural
History of Weed Control
 When did it start?
- Together with the history of agriculture.
 When?
- Approx. 10,000 years ago (Hamilton 2009).
 Changed following the development of science and tech:
10,000-5000 years ago: hands, wood/simple tools
1000 y: animals+tools 200 y: natural herbicides (sea
salt) 1863: biological weed control
introduced 1908: US introduced non-organic herbicides
1941: 2,4-D introduced mid 1990s: herbicide GM crops
available current trend: more exploration on
alleloherbicide, bioherbicide, IWM, discovery of novel
herbicides
 Concept of Weed Management
 Three approaches:

A. Eradication
 Complete elimination of all live plants, plant parts, and
seeds from a defined area.
 Infers that the weed will not reappear unless
reintroduce.
 The ideal approach of weed control but rarely achieved:
1. Very difficult and expensive (costly-labor cost).
2. Practical only in a small and isolated area.
3. The plant itself:

- all plants have different life cycle and seed

production time (seeds produced and dispersed
prior to eradication).
- weed seed bank (how many seeds??? different
depth and sizes).
- numerous methods of weed dispersal.
- difficulty of avoiding reinfestation.

“Much easier to eradicate what can be seen than the

unseen”
B. Prevention

 Most practical approach to stop the spread of weed.

 Preventing the introduction, establishment, or spread of
weed species in areas not currently infested.
 Usually easier than controlling after establishment.
 Practices include:

1. Cleaning tillage and harvesting equipment from weed

seeds and vegetative structures.
2. Planting certified, weed-free crop seed.
3. Controlling weeds in barnyards, along roadways, and
bunds-avoid movement to farm.
4. Clean equipment before moving from infested
to non-infested fields.
5. Avoid hay, livestock feed, manure, mulch, etc.
containing seed of species currently not on
farm.
6. Weed-free irrigation water.
7. Caution when purchasing used equipment.
8. Careful consideration of rented land.

Difficulty of this approach: need a high discipline to

keep doing the same thing.
C. Control

 Management of weeds to minimize weed density,

competition and growth, and provide greatest economic
return from a crop; limiting seed infestations and
production; what we are mainly doing now.

 Consists of several methods: mechanical, cultural,

biological, chemical, IWM.
Total Weed Control?

 Acceptable in seasonal crops.

 Not recommended in perennial crops because:
 Induce soil compaction and erosion - Loss top soil
(6 t/ha/4y) & nutrients due to run-off
 Very costly
 Reasonable amount of coverage (weeds) needed
for:
 soil and water conservation
 ecological balance /host to beneficial organism
Weed Control Practices/Strategies

Crop growth

Weed interference

Time
Control applied
Crop growth

Weed interference
Time
Control applied Crop growth

Weed interference
Time
4. Critical Period of Weed Control
 A period in the crop growth cycle during which
weeds must be controlled to prevent yield losses
(Knevezick et al., 2002- Weed Science)

 Different time for different crop, but critically

during establishment/active growing period of
the crops.

 Commonly applied for annual/seasonal crops.

Still doable for perennial crops.
 4. Right-time Critical Period of Weed Control

weeds crops

Crop growth

Control applied

Weed interference

Time
 Importance:

⚫ Weed control operations outside the critical period (i.e.

too early or too late) will have little benefit in weed
management or crop yield.

⚫ Correct-timing herbicide applications may allow farmers

to use one spray operation instead of two in some cases
- Can save time and money on weed control costs.

“Critical period of weed control is all about the right time to

control”
Methods of Weed Control
 Objective: to injure/kill weed plants physically and
use physical barrier to impede weed growth.

 Consists of:

1. Hand pulling and hoeing: can be expensive (labour

cost). Good for garden & small areas.

2. Tillage: burial, exposing weed seeds, pull-out de-

rooting.

3. Mowing and slashing: more effective for tall-growing

weeds; repetition may prevent seed production.
More effective on broadleaf weeds than on grasses.
 Tine harrowing-remove
weed seedlings
Aquatic weed harvester
4. Weed seed destroyer – in Australia.

 Designed to destroy weed seeds during harvest and

thereby reducing the potential for weed growth.
 Towed behind a harvester.
 Used in grain crop areas.
5. Burning and heat:

 Crop stubbles/residues burning.

 Steam sterilization of potting media for nursery

operations; kills weed seeds, propagules (veg.
parts), insects, pathogens.

 However, lose benefit of allelopathy from straw;

also eliminates potential for organic matter.
  Windrow burning in Australia

 Rice straw burning in Malaysia

 Flame weeding

 Steam weeding
6. Mulching

 Reduce/block light and air penetration into soil:

impede/prevent weed seed germination and growth.
Retain soil moisture and organic mulch can become
source of nutrient too!!!
 Materials used: hay, woodchips, rocks, sawdust, plastic
mulch used in vegetables & horticultural crops.
Disadvantages of Mechanical Control
Not completely eradicate weeds.

Not a long lasting control methods.

High cost is needed (labor, machineries).

High time and energy consuming.

Need high efficacy esp. for control method using

hoe and machineries. If not careful, might also
destroy crops.
Methods of Weed Control
 Objective: provides conditions more favourable for
crop growth, less favourable for weeds. Involves
agronomic practices and crop management.

 Consists of:

1) Grow Healthy & Competitive Crops:

Select competitive & resistant varieties

Provide optimal growing conditions for

crops – suitable soil type, pH
Irrigate and fertilize crop, not weeds

Early/delay sowing date – e.g. in rice farming

Intercropping – using empty space between crop

rows

https://www.stpaulsgarwood.com/weed-
control-methods.html
Crop rotation: Crop rotation can disrupt weed life
cycles. Crop rotation: diversity in space occupied
by crops, diversity in control methods and
herbicides use.
 High seeding rate - higher seeding rates increase
planting density and planting uniformity: no space for
weeds.
HOWEVER!!!
- not to be so high that yields are reduced (intraspecific
competition, high humidity, lodging, disease potential)
2) Cover Crops:

 Used to compete with the weeds infesting an area.

 Prevent weed emergence and/or reduces growth of

weeds.

 Advantages:
 provide a physical barrier to weed emergence
 soil temperature and soil moisture

 N2 fixation
 fertilizer to crops.

 Allelopathic chemicals from the cover crop residue may

also inhibit germination/growth of weeds.
3) Water Management:

 Flooding used in rice production for weed control.

 Many weeds are not tolerant to anaerobic conditions:

death. Rice can survive flooding. Less suitable for
aquatic weeds.

 Water deprivation can be a weed control method in

orchard or plantation.
Disadvantages of Cultural Control

Some methods consume large amount of natural resource

(e.g. water).

Weeds can be even more aggressive than the latest cultivar.

Crop rotation is not applicable in plantation and perennials.

Cover crops is not suitable for some crops.

Need high efficacy esp. for control method using precise

irrigation and fertilizers, not practical in rice field.
Control your weeds or else...........

Crop or weed field???

ANNOUNCEMENT AGR3102

FIRSTTEST
DATE: 20/4/2021
PLATFORM: PUTRABLAST
TIME: 0830 – 0930 am
LECTURE NOTES INCLUDED:
W1-W4